The passenger compartments of vehicles are usually equipped with sun visors. The visors are mounted on pivot rods. The visors pivot downwardly from a stored position against the headliner of the vehicle to various lower positions for shielding the eyes of the occupants from sunlight. A torque control rotatably attaches the visor to the rod. The torque control must hold the visor at the various positions, yet permit relatively easy adjustment of the visor.
A number of current torque controls are formed so that the torque control curves about the pivot rod and the ends of the torque control are fixed. One problem with this configuration is that it is not durable. Since the ends are fixed when the visor body moves, stress concentrates at the curved portion of the torque control. Consequently, the control fails in that area before a predetermined cycle life is met. One way to attempt to increase the cycle life of this design is to hold the material processing within strict limits. This is undesirable since it increases the complexity and cost of manufacturing the part.
Therefore, a torque control is sought, which does not permit the visor to slip from the stored position to the lowered position during operation of the vehicle. It is also desired that the torque control be simple to manufacture, easy to assemble to the pivot rod, and robust.